Apparatus for treatment of ores.



PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.

0. DAUBE. APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES.

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No. 746,928. 7 PATENTED DEC. 15, I903. 0. DAUBE. v

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF GEES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1903.

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' in carrying out my process; and Fig. 2 is a paratus for Treatment of Ores, ofwhich the OSCAR DAUBE, OF

Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF ORES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,928, dated December 15, 1903.

Application filed March 4, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OSCAR DAUBE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, connty,and State of New York, have invented a certain newand usefullmprovementin Apfollowing is a specification.

Certain iron ores cannot be advantageously smelted in the ordinary way in the furnace owing to their being available only in small particles. Where such ores arecharged in the ordinary way with fuel in a blast-furnace, they either choke up the draft or are blown out at the top. It has been hitherto proposed to subject ores of this kind to a preliminary process intended to produce bricks suitable for treatment in the blast-furnace. One method of preparation hitherto proposed consists in mixing the orein powdered form with powdered bituminous coal and tar, making bricks of this composition, and then coking these-bricks out of contact with the air to produce spongy bricks wherein the ore and coke are incorporated in intimate mixture. Where this process is resorted to, the bricks after being coked must be removed from the coking-oven and charged in a blast-furnace, and this transfer involves a great loss of heat, and therefore a corresponding expense.

The present invention relates to a method of treatment which avoids the above-mentioned waste and trouble and also to an apparatus for carrying out said method. I

My improved method and apparatus also have the advantage of permitting utilization of many of the heat units in the original fuel for smelting purposes.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section, on line a: a: of Fig. 1, of a preferred form of apparatus employed by me horizontal section of the same.

Said apparatus consists of a chamber 1, whose walls are of fire-brick and the bottom of which is closed in by ahearth 2. Passing under the hearth and up around the walls are fines 3, which may lead to the top of the chamber 1, as shown at 4. The furnace 5 is placed at one side'of the chamber 1, from whichfurnace products of combustion are carried ed through the lines 3. Any form of fuel here used is within my broad invention.

i means of the rod 12. chamber 1 is surrounded by an air-pipe l3, supplying twyers 14, whereby oxygen is sup- Scrial No. 146,068. (No model.)

There are two openings provided at the top of the chamber 1, one of which is shown at 6, while the other is preferably a branch opening 7, to which a pipe 8 is connected for the purpose hereinafter mentioned. The

. opening 6 can be tightly closed by means of the cover 9, and appropriate covers 10 and 11 are applied in the branch opening 7. The

cover 11 canbe operated from without by The lower part of the plied to the chamber 1 at the proper time.

On the two sides of the furnace 5are placed heavy plates of iron 15, within each of which is formed a tortuous passage 16. This passage being formed within, the iron sides of the furnace are shown in Fig. 1 in dotted lines. The ends of the passages 16 communicate with the two ends of the air-pipe 13, as shown in Fig. 2. By forcing air through the passages 16 by any wellknown means,

which form no 'part of my present invention, I am able to supply highly-heated oxygen through the twyers to the material in the chamber 1.

The method of treatment of iron ore which is carried out by this apparatus is as follows: I first form an intimate mixture composed of about sixty per cent. of bituminous coal, thirty-five per cent. of the powdered ore, and five per cent. of tar. The last ingredient is intended particularly to serve as a binder and prevent separation of the ore and coal when thrown together due to their different specific gravities. The above-named proportions are not essential to this invention and should be varied according as the ore or the coal, or both, vary in quality. The mixture thus formed is charged directly into the chamber 1, the covers 9 and 10 being tightly applied to the respective openings, while the cover 11 is drawn outward, so as to permit direct communication through the pipe 7 to the pipe 8. The furnace 5 is then lighted, and the hot gases surrounding the chamber 1 will coke the contents and cause delivery through the pipe 8 of tar and gas mingled with the aforesaid hot gases. The gases thus produced can be collected and used in any way, but preferably in the furnace 5,-as hereinafter described I have found that where coal and ore are thus mixed and coked in a single mass this mass will shrink away from the walls of the containing-chamber and will be split up throughout. This fact, together-with the spongy consistency of the coke as thus formed, makes it possible to smelt the ore after coking in the same chamber wherein the treatment above -described takes place. Where undesirable products leave'the mass during smelting, the cover 11 is adjusted, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to close the pipe 8. In any event the cover 9 is removed to allow escape of the draft forced into the twyers. Air

is then forced in through the heaters 15 and- The flux may be thrown on top of the mass after coking or may be incorporated with it before coking, as preferred.

The metal can be drawn off at the opening 17 in the usual manner.

In my preferred apparatus the furnace is provided with air-tight doors, and I employ forced draft. I prefer tolead the gases down through the pipe 8 to the entrance 18 over the fire-doors, where said gas is blown in by air or steam, or both, in any known manner. This procedure draws the gases off through the opening 7 even during smelting when the cover 9 is removed. Where this is done, the cover 11 is of course withdrawn, as during coking. I thus employ waste gases from the chamber 1 to heat said chamber during smelting, as well as to heat the twyer-blast, and I may begin the smelting operation before the original mass is entirely coked, thus making the available gas more abundant for burning within the space 5.

It is another novel feature of this invention to carry the flue-gases through the openings 4 down'into the mass of the charge, whereby many impurities in the ores treated-are carried off by combination with the active hot gases from the flues.

It will be seen that the process above described involves a totally new method of subdividing the mass to be treated,which method, since it depends upon the escape of hot gases as the subdividing agent during coking, insures the production of passages located in the best possible direction for conveying the draft used in smelting. The principal other advantages of this process appear in the economy of labor and of fuel incident thereto.

Many changes and additions may be introduced in this invention by those-skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of said invention, and I am not to be understood as limiting myself to the details herein shown and described.

What I claim is 1. In a furnace for treating ore, the cokingchamber, the fire-box and flues leading from the fire-box around such chamber; in combination with twyers near the bottom of the chamber and means for supplying air thereto, substantially as described.

2. In a furnace for treating ore, a fire-box, a coking-chamber having twyers at the bottom thereof, hot-air flues leading from said fire-box around said chamber and two separate openings at the top each opening having a separate cover, substantially as described.

3. In a furnace for treating ore, a fire-box, a coking-chamber having twyers at the bottom thereof, hot-air flues leading from said fire-box around said chamber, two separate openings at the top, a fire-space and means for leading gas from one of said openings to said fire-space, substantially as described.

4. In a furnace for treating ore a vertical coking-chamber, hot-air flues vertically disposed around the same, twyers passing through said flues into such chamber near the bottom thereof, and means for supplying air to the said twyers, substantially as described.

5. A vertical coking-chamber, a fire-box and flues leading from said box up around said coking-chamber and dischargingv into said chamber below the level of the top of a normal charge, substantially as described.

6. A vertical coking-chamber, an air-tight fire-box, and flues leading from said fire-box up around said coking-chamber, said fines ending in downward passages leading into said coking-chamber, substantially as described.

7. In a furnace for treating ore, a fire-box, a vertical coking-chamber, hot-air flues leading from said fire-box around said chamber and means for introducing air near the bottom thereof; in combination with a gas-opening at the top of the chamber, a gas-pipe connected therewith, means for opening and closing communication through said opening, with said pipe, a waste-opening also at the top of the chamber, and a separate cover for said latter opening, substantially as described.

8. In a furnace for treating ore a vertical chamber, a fire-box and flues surrounding said chamber; in combination with twyers entering near the bottom of said chamber, and air-passages within said fire-box communicating with said twyers substantially as described. p

OSCAR DAUBE. Witnesses: FLORENCE PECK, H. S. MACKAYE. 

